Our flights to San Juan were uneventful and smooth. We went down to baggage claim and were met by a Carnival representative. My new hubby was sent off to register us at another location in the airport while I went to collect our luggage. We met back at the baggage claim, went to the Carnival desk set up for pier transfers, and then waited around 20-25 minutes till there were enough people to pack into a bus to transfer us to the port. The San Juan airport was scary and dirty. In the baggage claim area where we had to wait, there were falling ceiling panels, water dripping into buckets and mold and mildew everywhere. The Carnival staff ignored all of us waiting, preferring to joke and play with the other staff members lounging about. We were then herded out with our luggage to the waiting bus. Our luggage was taken away from us and put into a large truck to be transported to the pier and the ship. We found seats in the bus and were whisked away to the pier. Once at the pier, we were told to disembark from the bus and then promptly ignored. We were not told where to go from there. Finally, we asked the bus driver where we should go and he pointed to a line of people heading in one direction and said, “Follow them.” Off we went. The actual process of completing the registration, etc. was painless and done quickly and efficiently and we were on board the Destiny with our Sail and Sign Cards in our hot little hands.

We had an inside cabin located on deck 6 and we were pleasantly surprised. The two twin beds had already been pushed together and there was a bottle of champagne chilling in a plastic bucket for us; compliments of our travel agent. The room was quite large in comparison to the other two Carnival ships I had sailed on. Both my hubby and myself are large-sized people and we had plenty of room. The bathroom was adequate and had great storage area for all of our toiletries. The bathroom has a blow dryer already in it, but I was glad to have brought my 1800 watt travel dryer, as the Carnival dryer wouldn’t have dried water on a fly’s wings. The bathroom was well stocked with towels and a basket of trial-sized goodies. However, the shower was not cleaned very well and had a mold problem in the tile cracks. Being on deck 6, the casino was directly below us. These rooms are not insulated by any standards and we had sounds traveling up from the casino and the one-man band all night. Partiers and neighbor’s TVs could be heard at various times during the day and night. If noise affects you, be sure to bring earplugs! The room is pitch black when the lights are out since there is no window. This allows for great sleeping when the outside noise finally quiets down. Our cabin steward was efficient; however, she had a habit of knocking on the door every night while we were dressing for dinner. We got in the routine of putting the “Privacy Please” hanger on the door whenever we were in the room, night or day. There are plenty of storage cupboards, drawers, and hangers available and even a room safe. However, be advised that the safe uses a credit card only (Do not use your Sail & Sign card as it will de-magnetize it!) and there is no posting of the cost. Having read earlier during our research that the traveler needs to be wary of the “hidden/extra costs”, we didn’t want to take the chance of using it, so I can’t tell you how much it is. Carnival does provide bottles of various sodas and large bottled water in the room. There is a sign telling you that you’ll be charged for each soda/water opened. The cost is not cheep by any means. By the way, it's a good idea to beware of the hidden costs. They are to numerous to mention here so just beware.

My husband and I both agreed on the food during the 7-day cruise. Food aboard the ship was plentiful but not up the standards I was previously pleased by. It seems that the larger the boat, the more people they have to feed, they forgo quality for quantity. This includes all meals, everywhere on the ship…with the exception of the 24-hour pizzeria. The pizza was fabulous; always hot, large slices, and fresh with a light crust. The “waiter” shows in the evening were very lame when comparing to my two preceding cruises and there were a couple of evenings when there were no shows at all. The Land & Sea Restaurant was permanently set up for buffet-style food. This food was abundant but tasted like cafeteria food. I think people get so focused on the fact that you can have as much as you want that they don’t even take a minute to stop and think about the quality of what they’re eating. It reminded me of cattle grazing instead of fine dining. The night we had lobster tails in the main dining room, my husband was overjoyed he could order two; however, he said they were both over-cooked and tough and said it wasn’t worth the bother! My lobster tail was also tough and I had to admit I have had better lobster, even at chain restaurants (i.e., Red Lobster). I won’t continue going on and on about the disappointing food, but I will tell you…do not eat the Eggs Benedict unless you like shoe leather covered with gloppy, congealed hollandaise sauce. Oh yeah, the fruit was good and plentiful. Alcohol sales are extremely big on the ship and you can't walk out on the deck without being bombarded by someone trying to get you to buy.

We had read that the elevators were poor and you had to wait a long time to even get one. We didn’t have any problems with any of the elevators. The music on board was mainly Latin or Caribbean (calypso). There was a piano bar and disco (after 10:45 pm) but the one time they played a different style of music, Big Band, was during our dinner seating, so we missed that. The boat was clean for the most part but was in need of repair in several locations. The lifeboat drill was impressive. Very well marked, organized with many staff persons helping to point the way, and painless. The purser’s desk had a continuous line and we were thankful not to have to use it. In the evenings there were hundreds (it seemed) of photographers set up to take your pictures. This is one place Carnival makes their extra money and they don’t seem ashamed to admit it. If you like to have your photo taken, you’ll fit right in. For the rest of us, enjoy sitting down and watching the “show” of the other vacationers who think they were born models. It’s rather entertaining! Speaking of the entertainment. We attended all the evening shows and were disappointed. The comic was so bad; people were getting up and leaving. We finally did, too. The floorshows were boring unless you liked watching feathers, thongs, and lip-syncing. We did have a great time watching Karaoke once we found the hidden-away bar it was in. The pools were nice and loungers were plentiful. Plenty of dry towels were available and my husband loved the water slide.

We were disappointed with the activities on board the cruise ship. A first glance of the “Carnival Capers” looks like there are tons of things to do. However, try planning your day. A half page is devoted to telling you the dining times and where and when you can buy alcohol. A quarter page is devoted to “entertainment,” which is when the Caribbean and Latin music is being played. Another quarter page is listing when the pools, Internet Café, and Library open. On the back is “Today at a Glance”. One quarter is regarding the spa and exercise times. One quarter is again telling you the dining times (as if you didn’t get enough of it on the inside half page), one quarter tells you when the photo gallery, art desk, and video library desk opens and lists the times (in case you didn’t see it on the inside) of when the Caribbean and Latin music starts. Of course there is the “In Cabin TV Guide” listing. And as a side note, don’t plan on watching much TV as the majority of the time it wasn’t working and the weather wasn’t updated.

The best time was when we got off of the boat to do sightseeing on the islands. We took the St. John snorkeling excursion, the Barbados submarine trip, and the Aruba Natural Wonders tour. All three were fabulous and we highly recommend them to everyone. The prices ranged from $35 to $70 per person for our tours and were well worth it. We didn’t go ashore on Martinique, as there were no excursions that were interesting to us. After talking to our tablemates at dinner that evening, we were glad we didn’t. Several people didn’t like the island and were treated badly by the locals.

They said it was obvious the locals of Martinique didn’t want the tourists there. We wondered who in Carnival and/or the island of Martinique paid off to get on the Carnival itinerary. Oh well, we spent the day lounging by the pool and it was quite relaxing as the ship was pretty deserted at that time.

We attended the debarkation talk and it was helpful. Don’t plan on being in a hurry to leave the ship. Special care is taken for passengers with early flights (before 12:30 p.m.) and those needing assistance. The rest of us sat around and waited. Be sure to have your book with you as it helps kill the time. Customs was a breeze and we had to fight the crowd to find our luggage but once it was obtained, it was easy to locate the bus to take us back to the San Juan airport.

We’ve decided that if we ever cruise again, it will not be with Carnival as it is definitely a young, party, alcohol-oriented, gambling ship. Forget it if you are a honeymooning couple that wants romance and memories to last a lifetime.